A four-hour money bubble dominated Day 3 of the $50,000-entry Poker Players Championship (PPC), where Chris Klodnicki eventually missed out on profit after busting in 18^th place. A terrific yet tense atmosphere enveloped the WSOP event that all the best players in the world chase each year, but with the eliminations of the reigning champion Daniel Negreanu in 30^th and Jeremy Ausmus in 27^th place, only Jon Kyte flies the flag for PokerStake.

Legends Leave Party Early

With 35 players entering the cardroom in the $50,000 PPC at the start of Day 3, they did so knowing that only 17 of them would make money. They could have had no idea of the sheer time it would take to reach that magic number, however, as players such as Dan Smith, Bryce Yockey and Chris Brewer all bit the dust too.

The exit for the 2024 PPC champion and PokerStake player Negreanu was among the more painful of the day. Exiting in 30^th place, the Canadian poker legend lost to Phil Hellmuth when The Poker Brat’s queens did the trick in Pot Limit Omaha. Kid Poker may have crashed out but Hellmuth took up the mantle of the most famous player in the action.

The 17-time bracelet winner ploughed on but was eventually cut down himself in 20^th place, just three shy of profit. All-in in a hand of Razz against Chris Vitch, Hellmuth lost to Vitch’s flush to bust and after Hellmuth’s exit, so too did the POY pacesetter Benny Glaser meet the rail. Glaser, who is going for an unprecedented four WSOP bracelets in  a single series, fell two short of profit, and most importantly, POY points in his battle with Scott Bohlman.

A Long Bubble Wait

Once there were 18 players left, the bubble officially began and while multiple players were at risk, the fact they all took it in turns to survive only helped the chip leaders. Those featured the three-time PPC winner Michael Mizrachi, who ended the day on 3,565,000 chips. ‘Grinder’ will be hoping to become the first player to win the PPC for a fourth time in a couple of days.

Andrew Yeh, who missed out on gold when Brian Rast came back from a single bet against him just last week, had a much better time today, ending the day on 7,935,000, good for a strong lead from closest rival Albert Daher. The Lebanese player ended play with 5,150,000 chips after considerable time dominating the feature table and playing against players such as Bryn Kenney.

The All-Time Money List leader, Bryn Kenney, ended Day 3 with a stack of 890,000 chips, sitting in 11^th place of the 17 players left in the hunt. Other big names such as Mike Matusow (1,545,000), Day 2 chip leader Erick Lindgren (1,500,000), and the Day 1 chip leader Ali Eslami (800,000) all made the top dozen players too.

Short Stacks in the Fire

While many are thriving, others are merely surviving and will need to get off to a flyer on Day 4 if they are to have any chance of making the final day. While it was Chris Klodnicki who eventually bubbled the event at 3am local time, others who made the money were left with crumbs as they clung to cash for a minimum of $100,000 – twice the entry fee in to the event.

Ben Yu (95,000) is the shortest stacked player in the counts, while PokerStake’s Jon Kyte (230,000) has work to do if he is to put himself back into contention for the win. Former winner Matthew Ashton (285,000) will need to use all of his experience on Day 4 if he is to stand any chance of bagging the Chip Reese Trophy once more.

Here are all the standings after a dramatic Day 3 at the felt in the 2025 $50,000 Poker Players Championship.

WSOP 2025 Event #66 $50,000 Poker Players Championship Chip Counts:
Rank	Player	Country	Chips
1st	Andrew Yeh	United States	7,935,000
2nd	Albert Daher	Lebanon	5,150,000
3rd	Michael Mizrachi	United States	3,565,000
4th	Ben Lamb	United States	2,325,000
5th	Esther Taylor	United States	2,010,000
6th	Christian Roberts	Venezuela	1,745,000
7th	Marco Johnson	United States	1,605,000
8th	Mike Matusow	United States	1,545,000
9th	Erick Lindgren	United States	1,500,000
10th	Justin Liberto	United States	895,000